‘Bharat Jodo Library to make idea of India a living principle’

• It has been set up to give an opportunity to those wish to read in their free time during yatra
• The aim to make the “idea of India” a permanent thing in the lives of the people
• The Congress will establish 500 such Bharat Jodo libraries across the country

For Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bharat Jodo Yatra is not temporary campaign which will end the conclusion of the march. Precisely, it aims to make the “idea of India” a permanent thing. Keeping this in mind, the party has mooted the idea of Bharat Jodo Library, which has been set up by up by a team of 17 participants of the march.

The Gandhi scion, who has seriously been campaigning to bring India together, is going to formally inaugurate the library during his Madhya Pradesh leg of the yatra on Thursday. It is said that the objective behind such a library is to instill in citizens the idea of India that include the Constitutional values of liberty equality, fraternity, justice and pluralism.

The library comprising books on subjects like politics, history and the lives of noted leaders has been set up in a truck as part of the ongoing Bahart Jodo Yatra, according to PTI. The facility having a collection of about 1,000 books has been set up to give an opportunity to those wish to read in their free time during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, All India Mahila Congress’s national legal aid coordinator Avani Bansal  said.

After the yatra, the Congress will establish 500 such Bharat Jodo libraries across the country, said Bansal. The truck-mounted library, has different sections comprising books on subjects like politics, history, spirituality, fiction and autobiographies of great leaders, reported PTI. Two set of sofas along with small tables are also placed near the book shelves for the convenience of the readers, she said. Books dedicated to the lives of former PMs Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have also been given prominent space in the library.

According to the news agency, the front wall of the library carries a photograph of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and the side panel displays a picture of ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi. The panel behind the sofas displays messages like “Both success and failure are largely the result of habit” and “Lead a life that legendary and too many people live the same year 80 times and call it a life.”

The Congress has also decided to set up libraries at the state headquarters. Former chief minister and current state Congress president Kamal Nath appreciated the idea and agreed to set up a dedicated library in the state party office in Bhopal.